Are you familiar with the terms “pedagogy” and “andragogy“? “Pedagogy” is supposed to be education which is centered on the needs of the child, and “andragogy” is supposed to centered on the needs of, you guessed it, adults. You think so? I don’t! We have taken terms to the extreme. That is part of the […]
“If you see your brother standing by the road…. with a heavy load… from the seeds he’s sowed…” so the song goes. It goes on to exhort us to “try a little kindness…” Sounds good? Would it help your business to be perceived as kind and benevolent? An enterprise people can’t do without? Intuitively, we […]
Do you grow vegetables? We do, in the narrow corridor fronting our very urban apartment. We grow them in pots because there’s no space otherwise. We can’t grow very much, of course, but we grow the vegetables in order to get some hands-on experience. There are some things you can learn from growing your own […]
Yes, you read that right. Do you know people who are like that? People who never seem to get anything done and yet claiming to be “creative”? People who can tell you all about how to do your job better, but who can’t even remember the main decision from the last meeting? If you have […]
The title should read “In today’s Severely Distracted environment, you really have to be Special Delivery! We are a distracted people. We allow small disturbances to take away our focus and our attention from more important issues. We allow the unimportant to edge out the important, like relationships. We think that gadgets and social media […]
A few assertions about fairness and justice. They may not seem fair to you at first sight. Think about them a little, don’t worry about dictionary definitions. Are they actually played out in real life? Fairness focuses on rights. Justice focuses on what is right. Fairness is based on perceptions. Justice is based on principles. Fairness focuses […]
FUN! Oh, yes. And that is what girls just wanna have, if Cyndi Lauper is to be believed. Do you like having fun? Are you doing a face-palm movement in response to that question? Let’s have some serious play with the word. Looking up the word “fun” in the etymology dictionary, we see that fun […]
Fear is actually a good thing. It keeps us alive. A healthy fear of consequences helps us to stay safe even as we explore and find ways to become more creative. There are two basic motivating drives in all human beings: Fear of Loss, and Desire for Gain. These two complement each other. It is […]
I’ve always been just your normal everyday Grunt, never been a Special Forces type, but I do hold them in high regard. So this post is in no way a “dig” at my friends in the Special Forces. But I do think it’s urgent. Randy Ottinger, Executive Vice President at Kotter International, recently wrote something […]
Something I read on Inc. this morning caught my attention. Margaret Heffernan was writing about her observations that the pipeline for female leaders is full to bursting point. She said that, during her interviews with women leaders, she asked the question “So what have you done to help other women?” Those who answered with confidence, […]
I have been saying that if your business does not deliver genuine value to all stakeholders, then you have no business being in business. If you find that you have a great need to implement some sort of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Corporate Responsibility (CR) policy, then the very nature of your business should […]
I happened to come across an article entitled “The Evolution of Blind Acceptance“, and immediately the thought of corporate conscience came to mind. If you’re familiar with what I write about, you’ll know that one of my lines is “If your business does not give great value to ALL stakeholders, you have no business being […]
We are often exhorted to “Find what you love and do it”. Less often do we hear “Love what you do when you’re in it”, meaning learning to love your job, whatever it is! Some of you might know the story of the bird that failed to fly to warmer climes for the winter. Shivering […]
“The good is the enemy of the best”. What is your definition of the “best”? It is the same question as “What is your definition of success?” As usual, people seem to be divided into two or more camps about this. One camp says that we should always go for what is best all the […]
Have you come across people who say things like that? They claim to be “practical” and “hands-on” people who “get things done”. Now, if only those people in charge of the planning would get their act together and produce plans that actually work instead of having to be made to work! This seems to be […]
[[Warning! This post may be offensive to some!]] And what is that one way? Truthfully, of course! I see many tips on how to answer interview questions well, how to prepare to “ace” the interview, etc, online. It is as though people are saying that all you need to do is get past the interview […]
Marshall Goldsmith’s popular book essentially discusses how certain small habits can actually hold us back from further progress in our lives. Many people might think that a certain characteristic they have, like always winning, for example, is something that fostered their success so far. However, the characteristic of always winning, whatever it takes, may actually […]
According to some sources, A & W, as in the fast food chain Allen & Wright, came to Singapore in 1968. The chain sold hot dogs and root beer floats to loyal afficionados until about 2003, when the last restaurant closed down. Another A & W pair came to Singapore long before that. Their names […]
Don’t worry, I’m not inviting you to die today. I’d rather you live for as long as your body was designed for. Nobody likes to talk about death or dying. However, if you are one of those people who are able to say “It is a good day to die!” with full conviction and with […]
Many of us would prefer FOC to mean “Free of Charge” rather than “Fear of Change.” We actually need to get rid of this sort of thinking. There is no such thing as “Free of Charge”. Someone made it possible. Someone paid for it. It is more proper to use the term pro bono. We […]
If your primary role isn’t in Maintenance, you might be tempted to turn your nose up at it. We in Singapore have existed for a long time in a culture of “Maid-tenance”. Despicable, onerous, smelly, inconvenient, uncomfortable jobs fit only for “children of a lesser god“. Yes, we relegate maintenance to “lesser beings”. We forget […]
Fire the Boss. Secret and not-so-secret desires of many people. We ARE an arrogant lot, aren’t we? Thinking that we can do better if we were in the Boss’ shoes. Which is astounding, since very few ever bother walking in the Boss’ shoes for any distance at all. Few attempt to engage with the Boss, […]
Like mercy, the quality of loyalty is not strained. That means it cannot be forced out of anyone. Loyalty is always based on mutually-beneficial relationships, actual or perceived. Not only that, loyalty is an attitude of desiring the good of the person or entity that one is loyal to. Even symbiotic relationships do not necessarily […]
Heard these statements somewhere at some time? “Dominate your market!” “Grow rich in your niche!” How about “Attracting your customers” and “Woo your buyers”? “Make it juicy for people”? While brand posturing, marketing and selling are of course very important, how many of you believe, really believe deep down inside, that your goods and services […]
On 26 Oct 2012, Anthony Robbins posted an article on LinkedIn. It was shared by Horace Tee and was titled “Change Your Words, Change Your Life: The Simplest Tool I Know for Immediately Transforming the Quality of Your Life“. As I read the article, a few thoughts came to me. One of the main functions of a leader is […]
“Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point.” ~Blaise Pascal~ (The heart has its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing.) I came across this quote by Blaise Pascal in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time several years ago. There is a pretty good explanation for what Blaise Pascal meant on the Helium website, written by […]
Ask me what I mean by “AOL” and you will not be surprised when I answer that it is the “Art Of Listening”. No, not the other thingy. Most of you will be familiar with the terms “Auditory”, “Visual” and “Kinesthetic” (AVK). Google the terms yourself if you wish to find out more. Generally, it […]
This came to me after I’d finished delivering a short introduction to behavioural styles to the C-suite of an international insurance company in Kuala Lumpur. I realized that the old song by Billy Joel, which is the first part of the title, described how we ought to relate to others, especially those with behavioural styles […]
Picture this. Head office of an MNC in Boston faces issues with silo mentality existing between a few Divisions which actually need to work together. Team-building, team coaching and leadership programs have so far failed to bring about any changes of note. In desperation, the CEO throws up his hands and barks to his HR […]
I was reading a post in Seth Godin’s blog. Seth was talking about going from general to specific and vice versa. Reading widely and reading other people’s blogs can certainly spark off ideas which you can use yourself. You don’t need to agree with everything someone else says. You can find areas of overlap that […]
So, what do you want? I always wish more sellers and marketers would ask this question more sincerely of their buyers. I look around me and I see so many placebos being offered. Worse still, they are being wolfed down with great relish. Caveat Emptor – let the buyer beware! Some so-called marketing gurus actually […]
Yes, really, how lucky are you? How lucky have you been? Will you continue to be lucky in future? Will you start getting lucky? We all know Seneca’s quote. Do we all practice what it says? In my last newsletter I talked about “Deliberate Delegation” and attached the story of “A Letter to Garcia” in […]
In case you’re wondering – no, I do NOT agree that 90% of conflict is due to the wrong tone of voice. Here’s why. Do you know some of those people who are always in control of what they say, how they say it and when they say it? Have you ever wished that you […]
Do you know of people who seem to be successful no matter what they turn their hands to? Have you ever wondered how they manage that? Is it because they came from good, nurturing and loving families, had a privileged education, or simply inherited their wealth? Is it because they had all the “good breaks” […]
Do you treasure feedback? I hope you do. Feedback is extremely precious. What would you classify as feedback? Affirmations from others? Brickbats? Criticisms? Accolades for your various and wonderful achievements? Scathing remarks about your work attitude? Do you have what many call “thick skin” for feedback of all categories? One of our senses is the […]
No, that’s not a tongue-twister. In fact, it’s something for you and I to focus on. Focusing on this will help a lot in freeing us to be and do all that we are meant to. Ready? Say it out loud, now, “yt ilib isnop serym siti!”. Hmmm…let’s do that again, shall we? With a […]
Most of us have heard of, or know a thing or two, about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Although some have said that Maslow himself never used a pyramid to depict this hierarchy, it is commonly represented as that rather well-known pyramid. The bottom four layers are supposed to represent the “Deficiency”, or “D” needs and […]
I officially joined APTS at this meeting. The meeting was fun, and the two speakers spoke about stuff which resonated a lot with me! Dr Kala spoke about Personal Mastery, which really was all about making choices to develop yourself and make yourself happy, in simplistic terms. Deja vu, I had just written a post […]
This is one of the stories that can be found in Rudyard Kipling’s “The Second Jungle Book”. The story is called “The Miracle of Purun Bhagat” and can be read free online. It is about a man who, having reached the dizzying heights of a long an illustrious career, forsook it all and took up […]
Simple Truths has a movie called the 212 movie. It is about how a difference of one degree (Fahrenheit, in this case) makes all the difference between no power and steam power. When I was with Lifeskills Enrichment, I wrote a blog post (now defunct) to expand on this concept. My stand was that the amount […]
Are you familiar with “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)”? What is your view of it? There are many terms and viewpoints that have sprung up around the concept, the more ubiquitous ones being “Creating Shared Value (CSV)”, “Triple Bottom Line (TBL)”, “Corporate Moral Responsibility (CMR)” and quite recently “Corporate Responsibility (CR)”. All the concepts seem to […]
Most of us know the Golden Rule, and many do try to live accordingly. The Golden Rule is recognized as universal, and has been compared across religions and similar beliefs. Then there is the Platinum Rule. Many who know the Platinum Rule state that it is superior to the Golden Rule. Nothing could be further […]
Heard of Teenagers? Well, this is not about young swinging twenty-somethings. It’s about all those times in-between. Are you familiar with them? Those times in-between when you are waiting for a call from an important client, when the someone you’re supposed to meet suddenly has to reschedule at the last minute, and when you arrive […]
It is no secret that we as people tend to trend. We want to be with the “In” crowd. We want to be “Hip”, “Cool”, “Happening” and I don’t know what else. I don’t think it only happens to teenagers, meaning that supposedly crazy mixed-up bunch with raging hormones, which in my book should not […]
The number of books, articles and related scholarly, business and entertainment paraphernalia regarding the subject of warfare and business is indeed plethoric. Many, if not most, of these seem to hold Sun Tzu in high regard, and rightly so. There are indeed parallels between triumphant warfare, which includes “warfighting”, for my American friends, and the […]
I was reading Alan Weiss’ book “Thrive”, and was musing on what he said about WISH-ing your life away. It struck me that a fundamental difference between a DO-er and a WISH-er is that DO-ers Develop Opportunities and that WISH-ers Willfully Inflict Self Harm So, are you are DO-er or are you a WISH-er? Be […]
These are a few thoughts following a read of “More meetings, so more pay for OCBC directors” in the Business Times of 26 Apr 2012. Do you know what a Board of Directors does? Why is it there in the first place? Well, as far as I understand it, a Board of Directors is to […]
No options? Who says? We always have options. One of the biggest leadership cop-outs I know is when leaders take the stand that we have no choice. You always have a choice. You can choose to exercise leadership, which is what you’re paid for anyway. You can choose to let someone more capable than yourself […]
What is the purpose of implementing a minimum wage? Minimizing exploitation of low-cost labour, even foreign labour, by employers. Is that the only way to minimize such exploitation? Certainly not! The only reason I will support such legislation, if it indeed comes to pass, is to bring unscrupulous employers who exploit such workers, both local […]
On Wednesday 14 Mar 2012, I happened to meet with Koh Yong Jin, an old friend who had served with me in the Armed Forces since the mid-80s. Yong Jin is a Fitness and Conditioning Specialist who helps people live better quality lives by keeping their levels of overall fitness at an optimum level. We […]
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